The bench boss of the Brockville Braves is one of the five finalists in the running for the CJHL Coach of the Year award for 2018-19. The nominees were announced on Tuesday.

The Darcy Haugan/Mark Cross Memorial Award, which will be presented annually by the CJHL in conjunction with the National Hockey League Coaches Association (NHLCA), is named in honour of the head coach and assistant coach of the Humboldt Broncos who died as a result of the bus crash in April 2018 that claimed 16 lives.

Also in the running for the national Jr. A coaching award are Blake Spiller of the Portage Terriers, Joe Martin of the Merritt Centennials, Ryan Papaioannou of the Brooks Bandits and Mike Tarantino of the Oakville Blades.

Winchester, the CCHL Coach of the Year for the second year in a row, guided the Braves to a regular-season record of 41-16-3-2 in 2018-19. Brockville placed third overall in the 12-team league.

He did not know about being named a finalist for the CJHL award when he was contacted by The Recorder and Times on Tuesday afternoon; Winchester explained he had been in the library much of the day.

“Wow… it’s pretty cool,” was his initial reaction to the news. “Obviously, it’s an honour.”

Winchester, 35, indicated that credit goes to his coaching staff and the organization. The Braves can be proud of their current standing as one of the premier franchises in the central league.

Winchester indicated that being swept by the Ottawa Jr. Senators in the semi-finals last month still stings. Although he credited Ottawa for being full value for the series victory, Winchester commented that the margin between the two teams was “not as much” this year compared to the previous season when they met in the semi-finals and the series went to a seventh game.

Key injuries and a bit of bad luck also hampered the Braves’ attempt to make a deep run in the playoffs this season, according to Winchester.

“We played hard, but it wasn’t meant to be,” he said.

Ottawa went on to win the CCHL championship and, for the second year in a row, capture the Eastern Canada title at the Fred Page Cup. The Jr. Senators will vie for the national title at the RBC Cup tournament in Alberta starting this weekend.

As for Winchester, he said “the push is on” in his third year with the Braves to challenge perennial frontrunners Ottawa and Carleton Place atop the league.

“We’ve still got a lot of work to do,” he said.

The Braves will hold training camp this weekend and are taking part in the spring developmental league.

The national Jr. A coaching award will be presented at the NHLCA global coaches clinic in Vancouver on June 20. Winchester doubts that his name will be called, noting there are a couple of coaches out west who are strong candidates for the honour.

Five other coaches from leagues affiliated with the CJHL received honourable mentions as part of the voting process that involves all 10 CJHL member leagues and takes into account the nominees’ efforts during the regular season.

Winchester, whose National Hockey League playing career ended in 2014, was named top sports personality at the annual Cornwall Lions dinner on Wednesday.